Hi everyone! I had planned on writing about Anita Sarkeesian today, but I found another blog that has done a much better job than I would have. Foz Meadows very clearly explains why and how internet and gaming Rape Culture is toxic, leads to misogyny, and can actually engender sexual assault and rape. I hope you all enjoy it.

About a week ago, I wrote a post on Penny Arcade vs. Rape Culture, which sent my blog traffic skyrocketing after it was linked on Reddit. However, both in comments on the post itself and elsewhere on Reddit, quite a few people seemed to be missing the point: or, more specifically, misunderstanding what rape culture actually is and how it applies to gaming. One commenter, in fact, responded thusly:

My mind is boggled that you feel righteous in condemning something people enjoy, especially when it’s not even real. Do you realize that’s what you’re doing? You’re standing up and telling all these people, people you don’t know, that what they’re enjoying is *wrong*. You don’t have numbers or statistics or any sort of fact behind you quantifying how what they do is wrong. None. Telling people that what they enjoy in the privacy of their own homes…

I think the article you linked to makes some great and necessary points, but I was a little taken aback when she seemed to define rape as something only experienced by women, with straight men being the sole perps. Men can be raped too, and women can be raped by other women as well, though that is rare. I get that the article was dealing with a form of misogyny in gaming culture, and it’s one I’ve criticized often.I’m with her on that point. But I do think it’s important to acknowledge (as you gestured to in your May 30 post) that men can sometimes face sexual violence and rape too. In my experience, once that is acknowledged (and it can be a bit of a mind-blow for some men, to suddenly see themselves as a potential rape victim) culture starts to change a whole lot quicker. Just my two cents.